City votes to avoid using mountaintop coal

By Morgan WatkinsStaff writer

Thursday

Sep 18, 2014 at 11:00 PMSep 18, 2014 at 11:57 PM

In a room packed with advocates, the Gainesville City Commission on Thursday night approved a policy under which Gainesville Regional Utilities will avoid purchasing coal mined by shearing off mountaintops.

In a room packed with advocates, the Gainesville City Commission on Thursday night approved a policy under which Gainesville Regional Utilities will avoid purchasing coal mined by shearing off mountaintops.Local organization Gainesville Loves Mountains has been working for 3½ years to bring an end to GRU's use of coal gleaned from mountaintop removal mining.This mining process uses explosives to blast off the tops of mountains in order to access the seams of coal beneath, and the waste is then disposed of in nearby valleys and sometimes buries streams.The City Commission adopted the proposed policy in a 5-2 vote, with Commissioners Todd Chase and Yvonne Hinson-Rawls in dissent. It also unanimously adopted a related resolution Thursday that formally opposes the use of mountaintop removal techniques.After the votes were made, the audience applauded before getting up to leave. Outside the meeting room, people shook hands and hugged as they celebrated the achievement."So many people here have just poured their heart and soul into this," said Jason Fults, co-founder of Gainesville Loves Mountains. "I'm definitely riding a happy wave tonight."Under the newly approved policy, GRU will pay up to 5 percent more to buy coal from suppliers with a source that doesn't come from mountaintop removal mining.The City Commission can vote to temporarily suspend the policy, however, if the cost difference is greater than 5 percent so that GRU can buy mountaintop coal.The utility's general manager also can waive the requirements and approve emergency coal purchases if GRU's coal inventory drops to critically low levels.Fuel expenses for customers in the upcoming fiscal year may not rise at all due to this policy, or it could result in an increase of up to $1.65 million, according to staff estimates.GRU did not recommend this policy. Interim GRU General Manager Kathy Viehe said they believe it could make the utility's fuel expenses go even higher than they already are.Chase told The Sun he felt the 5 percent figure was not a true cap, and that the 5 percent was portrayed as a compromise but really wasn't. The City Commission will have to decide how much is too much to pay to avoid mountaintop removal coal in the future if it comes to a vote.Matt Wasson, director of programs for Appalachian Voices, traveled to Gainesville to give a presentation to the City Commission Thursday evening on the impacts of mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian region.He showed an image of water running down from a mountaintop removal mine in Kentucky. The water was orange. Wasson mentioned one woman whose kindergartners would use orange crayons to draw streams because so many of them in that region look like this. The orange water is a "toxic soup" of problematic chemicals, Wasson told the commissioners.This form of mining has been linked to serious health problems like cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease, Wasson added."People in Appalachia are asking for help, and this city and GRU have the ability to help," he said. Over time since 2008, the amount of coal GRU has purchased from mountaintop removal mines has substantially decreased, Wasson said.He told the commissioners he doesn't think this policy will cost ratepayers much, if anything."It's a very well-conceived way to make a difference," he said. Wasson said that, to his knowledge, GRU is the first municipal utility to adopt a policy discouraging the buying of mountaintop removal coal.Commissioner Yvonne Hinson-Rawls opposed approving this policy. She said creating the policy restriction on purchasing this kind of coal would put an extra burden on both staff and GRU customers."I can't and won't support them paying any more," she said. "Let's hold the people blowing up God's mountains accountable and not the citizens of Gainesville."Commissioner Lauren Poe, who has been heavily involved on the issue, advocated for the policy's passage even though he acknowledged there are tradeoffs.The actions they take can send a message that there are certain limits to what they're willing to endure to produce energy, he said. Taking this step would mean Gainesville would no longer be responsible for the great cost being incurred upon thousands of people who don't live here and therefore can't show up to City Commission meetings.Commissioner Helen Warren, who supported the proposal, pointed out that GRU is in a position where it doesn't have to rely purely on fuel sources like coal. "We're living in a time where we can put the fossil fuels aside," she said. Commissioner Craig Carter, who also supported the proposal, spent a few minutes emphasizing that it is the elected officials on the City Commission, not GRU, who make these kinds of decisions.Despite this, GRU and its staff continuously get beat up for the board's decisions, and Carter discouraged people from doing that.Most of the people who spoke during public comment supported the policy on limiting the purchase of mountaintop removal coal. "It's unconscionable we're purchasing even one piece of this coal because we're helping perpetuate this crime against our land and people," one woman said. Another woman who was born and raised near Charleston, West Virginia, spoke up, too."I had respiratory problems and nose bleeds every day," she said. "I moved out of West Virginia when I was 18, and I was one of the lucky ones."They used to go to the mountains to get away from the pollution in the city, but now there aren't mountains to go to, she said. Ann League, Tennessee campaign coordinator for Appalachian Voices, told commissioners there would be a lot of Appalachian hillbillies raising a Mason jar to them if this policy passed in Gainesville — and then it did.Contact Morgan Watkins at 338-3104 or morgan.watkins@gainesville.com.

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